Jim Creighton

For the basketball player, see Jim Creighton (basketball).

Jim Creighton
Pitcher
Born: (1841-04-15)April 15, 1841 Manhattan, New York City, New York
Died: October 18, 1862(1862-10-18) (aged 21) Brooklyn, New York City, New York
Batted: Right Threw: Right
Teams
National Association of Base Ball Players Excelsior of Brooklyn 1860–1862

James Creighton, Jr. (April 15, 1841 – October 18, 1862) was an American baseball player during the game's amateur era, and is considered by historians to be its first superstar. As a pitcher in baseball's amateur era, he changed the sport from a game that showcased fielding, into a confrontation between the pitcher and batter. In this period, a pitcher was required to deliver the baseball in an underhand motion with a stiff arm/stiff wrist manner. The speed with which Creighton was able to pitch the ball had previously been thought of as impossible without movement of either his elbow or wrist. Although any movement was imperceptible, opponents and spectators believed them to be illegal.

Creighton was described as a high-principled, unassuming, and gentlemanly; traits considered ideal during the amateur era. Playing for the Excelsior of Brooklyn from 1860 to 1862, at the height of his popularity, he injured himself in a game in October 1862 when he suffered a ruptured abdominal hernia hitting a home run. The internal bleeding this created subsequently caused his death four days later. A respected member of both baseball and cricket communities, his death caused concern in each sport that public perception could consider them dangerous, hurting their popularity.

Early life

Creighton was born on April 15, 1841 in Manhattan, a borough of New York City, to James and Jane, but was raised in Brooklyn. By the age of 16, he had become well known in the Brooklyn area for his batting skills in both baseball and cricket. In 1857, he, along with other neighborhood youths, formed Young America, a local baseball club. Reportedly, he was a gentlemanly, highly-principled and unassuming man, which were considered ideal traits for players during baseball's amateur era. Amateur ballclubs during this time-period spent much of their time practicing and playing intrasquad games, with occasional matches against other clubs. Youth America played a few games before disbanding, and Creighton became a member of Niagra of Brooklyn as their second baseman.

Discovery by the Stars

Jim Creighton as an Excelsior

In 1859, Creighton and the Niagaras were losing a match to the Star Club of Brooklyn, when Creighton, who had to this point been used primarily in the infield, came into the game as a relief pitcher. Using what was described as a "low, swift delivery", Creighton threw the ball unthinkably hard for the time. With the balls "rising from the ground past the shoulder to the catcher", the Star batsmen were unable to hit them effectively. The Star batsmen claimed that he used an illegal snap of the wrist to deliver the pitch. Creighton called it his "speedball", while he also threw a high-arcing slower pitched called a "dew-drop". At the time, the rules of baseball stated that a pitcher must deliver the ball underhanded, locked straight at the elbow and the wrist. It was the duty of the pitcher to make it easy for the batter to hit the ball; fielding the ball was considered the game's true skill. Although the Star Club prevailed, Creighton became their new member following the game.

Before the 1860 season, Creighton left the Star Club and joined one of the highest-profile clubs in the game at the time, Excelsior of Brooklyn. In 1860, with their new star pitcher, they were becoming a national sensation. The Excelsior Club organized the first known national tour, which the played local teams down the East Coast of the United States. That first season, Creighton scored 47 runs in 20 match games, and was retired just 56 times, not once striking out. On November 8, in a game against the St. George Cricket Club, he recorded baseball's first shutout. In 1862, Creighton became the game's best batter, in addition to his pitching. During that year, he was retired just four times, either as a batter or baserunner.

When observing Creighton pitch a baseball, English Cricketer John Lillywhite commented, "Why, that man is not bowling, he is throwing underhand. It is the best disguised underhand throwing I ever saw, and might readily be taken for a fair delivery." Another observer said that his pitch was "as swift as [if] it was shot out of cannon." Exclesior teammate John Chapman later in his life wrote that Creighton "...had wonderful speed, and, with it, splendid command. He was fairly unhittable." Others, especially the conservative members among the baseball community, complained that not only were his pitched illegal, but also unsportsman-like. After holding the famed rival Brooklyn Atlantics to five runs, an extraordinarily low total for the era, the Brooklyn Eagle dispatched a reporter to determine whether or not his pitch was legal; in the end, it was determined he was throwing a "fair square pitch", rather than a "jerk" or an "underhand throw."

Professionalism

During this era of baseball, the game was strictly an amateur sport. However, it had rumored that clubs circumvented this rule by paying players in an under-the-table manner. Clubs would hire the player in a created position within the thier administration, with the understanding that there were no actual duties required. In 1860, the Excelsior Club lured Creighton, along with teammates George Flanley, Asa Brainard, and his brother Henry Brainard. All but Henry were quietly paid a salary, with Creighton earning $500, thus are believed to be the first "professional" baseball players. After winning the National Association championship in 1860, Creighton and Asa Brainard, jumped from the Excelsior Club to the Atlantic Club of Brooklyn. This move lasted only three weeks, and without having played any games, both players returned to the Excelsior Club. While this practise spread over all of baseball in the coming years, open professionalism didn't begin until the 1869 season, with the Cincinnati Red Stockings paying a salary to each member of the team.

Cricket

Creighton was considered a prominent member of the cricket community, playing for pleasure and for pay. He performed for the American Cricket Club in both 1861 and 1862, often playing against the all-England team whenever he could, whether at the Elysian Fields or elsewhere. Though the English teams would dominate these matches, Creighton faired well. In a 1859 match of 11 Englishmen against 16 Americans, he clean bowled five wickets out of six successive balls.

Death

Poster featuring the enshrouded image of Jim Creighton

On October 14, 1862, in a match against the Union of Morrisania, Creighton had hit four doubles in four at bats during the first five innings while Brainard pitched. In the sixth he took over pitching duties. In his next at bat he hit a home run, however, he suffered an injury during his swing. Creighton commented to Flanley when he crossed home plate that he heard something snap, thinking that it might have been his belt. After the game he began to experience severe pain in his abdomen, hemorrhaging from what was reported at the time a ruptured bladder. He died in his home on October 18 at the age of 21 years. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. His grave site was adorned with a 12-foot marble obelisk, topped with a large baseball.

Though it is generally accepted that he fatally injured himself while playing baseball, it was reported that the Excelsior president, Dr. Jones, made comments during the National Association convention of 1862 in attempt to "correct" this notion. He claimed tha Creighton had suffered the injury, instead, while playing cricket in a match on October 7.

Legacy

At the time, Cricket was the most popular sport in the United States, but Creighton and the Excelsiors had brought considerable notoriety to baseball. It is thought that his remarks were his attempt to save baseball's image as having nearly-equal standing with cricket, as well as his team's legacy considering that they had now lost their best player. Baseball at the time was constantly "looking forward", his death provided the sport with a certain mythology and much-needed nostalgia. In the following decade, tributes included visit to his grave after a match played on July 5, 1866 between the Excelsiors and the Nationals of Washington, and teams taking Creighton's name in his honor. As much as twenty years later, though the public adored their star pitchers, comparisions to Creighton would inevitably emerge. It was not considered controversial to compliment a pitcher with the caveat that he "warn't no Creighton." For years, the Excelsiors' programs included a portrait of their team with Creighton, shrouded in black, featured prominently in the center.

Baseball writer John Thorn commented in his book Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game that Creighton "was baseball's first hero, and I believe, the most importance player not inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

In an 1887 issue of early sports newspaper The Sporting Life, a letter-writer, who signed only as "Old Timer", sent in his account of the event. Robert Smith (Baseball in America, Holt Rinehart Winston, 1961, p. 10,13) as well as the Findagrave website [1] reported it is a ruptured bladder. Others speculate that it was some already-present injury or disease, or that his appendix or spleen had burst after the game. Contemporary writers were vague, only stating that he had suffered a "strain".

Bibliography

• Robbins, Michael W. (2000). Brooklyn: a state of mind. Workman Publishing. p. 392. ISBN 0-7611-1635-4.
• Thorn, John (2012). Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game (reprint, illustrated ed.). Simon and Schuster. p. 365. ISBN 0743294041.

External links

• Jim Creighton at CricketArchive (subscription required)